Sheila?s ego roadblock to solution: Naresh

TRANSPORT MINISTER Naresh Agarwal today accused the Delhi Government in general and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit in particular of complicating the ongoing dispute over plying of inter-State buses.

TRANSPORT MINISTER Naresh Agarwal today accused the Delhi Government in general and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit in particular of complicating the ongoing dispute over plying of inter-State buses.

Talking to reporters here on Friday, Agarwal said Dixit was trying to give a political colour to the issue and was not convening a meeting between Delhi Transport Minister Haroon Yusuf and him, despite repeated requests.

Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav himself had requested his Delhi counterpart to discuss the issue but there was no response from Dixit, he lamented.

Agarwal said it was Dixit’s ego that was coming in the way of resolving the problem, he said.

Agarwal retaliated and announced that DTC buses would not be allowed in Greater Noida and Noida unless the Delhi Government allowed UPSRTC buses in its territory.

When DTC buses could ply in Greater Noida and Noida, then why not UPSRTC buses on Delhi roads, he asked.

“In the age of free market, how can UP buses be stopped from doing business in Delhi,” he queried.

The minister said after two rounds of talks between officials of the DTC and the UPSRTC in Delhi on Thursday, it had seemed that a solution was round the corner. But Delhi officials suddenly adopted a firm attitude and refused to allow UPSRTC bus beyond Greater Noida and Noida.

This sudden change of stand, blocked avenues for any further talks, he added.